S 8561: Relates to requirements to qualify for a license as a licensed mental health counselor and the submission by applicants of supervised experience verification forms.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8561 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE October 31, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to mental health coun- seling licensure and the submission of supervised experience verifica- tion The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 8402 of the education law, as 2 added by chapter 676 of the laws of 2002, paragraph (c) as amended by 3 chapter 130 of the laws of 2010 and paragraph (g) as amended by chapter 4 210 of the laws of 2004, is amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to 5 read as follows: 6 3. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a license 7 as a "licensed mental health counselor", an applicant shall fulfill the 8 following requirements: 9 (a) Application: File an application with the department; 10 (b) Education: Have received an education, including a master's or 11 higher degree in counseling from a program registered by the department 12 or determined by the department to be the substantial equivalent there- 13 of, in accordance with the commissioner's regulations. The graduate 14 coursework shall include, but not be limited to, the following areas: 15 (i) human growth and development; 16 (ii) social and cultural foundations of counseling; 17 (iii) counseling theory and practice and psychopathology; 18 (iv) group dynamics; 19 (v) lifestyle and career development; 20 (vi) assessment and appraisal of individuals, couples and families and 21 groups; 22 (vii) research and program evaluation; 23 (viii) professional orientation and ethics; 24 (ix) foundations of mental health counseling and consultation; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14004-01-5 
 S. 8561 2 1 (x) clinical instruction; and 2 (xi) completion of a minimum one year supervised internship or practi- 3 cum in mental health counseling; 4 (c) Experience: An applicant shall complete a minimum of three thou- 5 sand hours of post-master's supervised experience relevant to the prac- 6 tice of mental health counseling satisfactory to the board and in 7 accordance with the commissioner's regulations. Satisfactory experience 8 obtained in an entity operating under a waiver issued by the department 9 pursuant to section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title may be 10 accepted by the department, notwithstanding that such experience may 11 have been obtained prior to the effective date of such section sixty- 12 five hundred three-a and/or prior to the entity having obtained a waiv- 13 er. The department may, for good cause shown, accept satisfactory expe- 14 rience that was obtained in a setting that would have been eligible for 15 a waiver but which has not obtained a waiver from the department or 16 experience that was obtained in good faith by the applicant under the 17 belief that appropriate authorization had been obtained for the experi- 18 ence, provided that such experience meets all other requirements for 19 acceptable experience; 20 (d) Submission of supervised experience verification: Notwithstanding 21 any other provision of law, in the process of licensure an applicant may 22 submit the verification of supervised experience, for example the super- 23 vised experience certification form, provided that the supervisory 24 portion of the form is completed, signed, and attested by the supervi- 25 sor, and the supervisory portion is submitted in a manner ensuring 26 authenticity and integrity as prescribed by the department's regu- 27 lations; 28 (e) Examination: Pass an examination satisfactory to the board and in 29 accordance with the commissioner's regulations; 30 [(e)] (f) Age: Be at least twenty-one years of age; 31 [(f)] (g) Character: Be of good moral character as determined by the 32 department; and 33 [(g)] (h) Fees: Pay a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars for an 34 initial license and a fee of one hundred seventy dollars for each trien- 35 nial registration period. 36 4. Regulations to implement applicant submission. The commissioner 37 shall promulgate regulations, consistent with this section, to permit 38 the submission by applicants of supervised experience verification 39 forms, including safeguards such as sealed envelopes, direct submission 40 by supervisors, encrypted electronic submission, or other means to 41 prevent tampering, and to allow audits or additional verification as 42 necessary. 43 § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section 8412 of the education 44 law, as added by chapter 486 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 (c) The mandatory continuing education fee shall be determined by the 47 department. Such fee shall be payable on or before the first day of each 48 triennial registration period, and shall be paid in addition to the 49 triennial registration fees required by paragraph [(g)] (h) of subdivi- 50 sion three of section eighty-four hundred two of this article and para- 51 graph (g) of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred five of 52 this article. 53 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.